Al-Fu'ah الْفُوعَة | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Al-Fu'ah | |
| Coordinates:35°58′54″N36°42′6″E / 35.98167°N 36.70167°E /35.98167; 36.70167 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Idlib |
| District | Idlib |
| Subdistrict | Binnish |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
• Total | 10,264 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Fu'ah (Arabic:الْفُوعَة,romanized: al-Fūʿah, also spelledal-Fouaa andal-Fo'ua) is a town in northernSyria, administratively part of theIdlib Governorate, located northeast ofIdlib. Nearby localities includeKafriya to the west,Maarrat Misrin to the northwest,Zardana to the north,Taftanaz to the northeast,Ta'um to the east andBinnish andSarmin to the south. The plain surrounding al-Fu'ah is well known for growingolives andfigs.[2]
According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 10,264 in the 2004 census.[1] The inhabitants were predominantlyShia Muslims.[3][4]
During theCrusades, the town was a barrier fortress of thePrincipality of Antioch.[5][6] The town was later captured byFakhr al-Mulk Radwan in 1104.[5]Alsunqur al-Bursuqi ofMosul occupied al-Fu'ah, along withSarmin, in 1126.[6]
Al-Fu'ah was visited by Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th century, duringAyyubid rule. He noted that it was a "large village in the neighborhood ofHalab. From it the convent called Dair Fu'ah takes its name."[7] He also mentioned that the people in the town and the surrounding area including Aleppo, followed Twelver Shi'ism or as he describes it "Imami".
In the late 13th century, the town was mentioned by Syrian geographerAbu'l-Fida, who described the town as a celebrated place in the plain of Aleppo. He noted that, "on this plain are grown quantities of olive, fig and other trees."[8]
While most towns in the Idlib Governorate came under the control of anti-government rebels during theSyrian Civil War, al-Fu'ah and the nearby town ofKafriya constituted an isolated pro-government enclave.[3] In July 2012 a rebel unit kidnapped three Shia Muslim civilians from the town for the stated purpose of exchanging them for anti-aircraft weaponry. In response, some of al-Fu'ah's residents kidnapped 32Sunni Muslims from nearbyTaftanaz,Saraqib andBinnish. After two weeks of negotiations, all captives were safely released.[4]
On 18 September 2015, al-Fu'ah was badly damaged, following a suicide bombing with an armoured vehicle full of explosives from Uzbek-led militant groupImam Bukhari Jamaat, an affiliate ofal-Qaeda.[9]
The town was placed under siege by rebels, and on 11 January 2016, theInternational Committee of the Red Cross and theWorld Food Programme organised an aid convoy to deliver food, medicine and other aid to the town and nearby villageKafriya.[10]
On 19 July 2018, residents of Fuah and Kafriya and pro-government fighters stationed in the two besieged towns were evacuated by buses to government-controlledAleppo under an agreement betweenIran, the Syrian Government, andHayat Tahrir al-Sham, withTurkey as a mediator. Syrian Government released 1,500 HTS prisoners in exchange for the safe evacuation of these towns. Following the evacuation, the emptied towns were temporarily declared a military zone by HTS.[11]
town and Sarmain and Ma'arat-Masrln are.
